


Tulips

by msobsessivecompulsive



Category: Downton Abbey
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-01
Updated: 2014-09-01
Packaged: 2018-02-15 19:16:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2240352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/msobsessivecompulsive/pseuds/msobsessivecompulsive
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a highly charged emotional situation, declarations of love are made and tears are shed. I would quantify this as fluffy angst. So enjoy your flangst!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tulips

Carson glanced down at his watch. 8pm. He drummed his fingers on the table and looked out the window. 6 hours. She had been gone 6 hours. He pushed away from the table and stood up, straightening his uniform. He walked over to his pantry and threw the door open angrily, startling Anna who was walking by with a handful of clothes. She jumped three feet in the air and then chuckled. 

"Mr. Carson. You startled me!" She smiled up at him, which turned quickly into a frown when she noticed his stormy expression. "What is the matter?"

"Did you see Mrs. Hughes return from her trip into Ripon?" Carson asked.

"I don’t think so, Mr. Carson," Anna replied, a concerned look crossing her features. "Is…is she not back yet?"

"No," Carson replied simply, glancing down the hallway. "She left at half two and she should have been back hours ago."

"Well I wouldn’t worry too much, Mr. Carson. Perhaps she walked back" Anna smiled again and headed up the steps.

Carson merely humphed and turned around, nearly running into Mrs. Patmore. He let out another annoyed sound as Beryl put her hands up in defeat. ”I was just coming to tell you that the dishes have been done early and that I’m headed to bed.”

Carson waved at her dismissively, turning back around to look out the back door.

"What are you all in a tizzy about?" She asked, putting her hands on her hips and taking a glance down the hallway.

"Mrs. Hughes has not returned from her trip to Ripon this afternoon," Carson replied, a tone of anger in his voice now. "She should have been back hours ago. She’s missed dinner and NOW she…"

"Your nighttime tea ritual can wait for a night," Mrs. Patmore shook her head.

"Something could have happened," Carson added, dropping his voice and glancing around to make sure that no other servants were listening in on their conversation. "She has delicate sensibilities."

Mrs. Patmore tilted her head back and guffawed. Carson looked affronted and opened his mouth to speak, but she waved at him with her hand before heading for the steps. ”You worry too much, Mr. Carson.” She let out another chuckle and hitched up her dress and started up the steps. ”Elsie? Delicate sensibilities?” he heard her repeat before laughing again.

Now well past the point of annoyance, Carson turned on his heels and stalked back to his pantry. He pulled out his pocket watch. 8:15. He walked back over to look out the window again when he heard the back door creak open softly. Hearing voices, his ears pricked up. 

"Yes, thank you so much. I really do appreciate it."

"No, no. I won’t take it. Glad to be of service." 

Carson stuck his head out of his pantry and saw Mrs. Hughes waving at someone, shutting the door behind her. She turned around to pick up her stuff from the floor and noticed Carson standing there. “Oh! Mr. Carson!” She was flushed pink and smiling.

"Where on EARTH have you been?!" He bellowed.

Ignoring his blustering, she skirted around him and walked into the pantry, depositing her bags on one of the chairs. ”I decided to take an extra look into a knitting shop. When I realized how late it had gotten, I started walking home. One of the nice young men who delivers the newspapers sometimes saw me and offered a ride home.” She held out some material. ”I think I’m going to give some of it to Ivy to…” she stopped when she noticed Carson’s face growing red.

"What are you so upset about?" She asked him, genuinely confused.

"You allowed a STRANGE man whom you do not know to drive you home?!" He yelled.

Elsie rolled her eyes and turned back around to stuff the yarn back in her bag. ”You are really blowing this entire thing out of proportion Mr…”

"I am NOT the one taking rides from people who may take advantage of me!" Carson interjected angrily. "That was a very STUPID thing to do!"

"Oh, come now, Mr. Carson. He is a nice, young lad. He always brings Daisy and Ivy flowers and he…"

"Nice, young lad? He’s nearly Lord Grantham’s age!" Carson huffed. "And you have no RIGHT to be…"

"Right?" Elsie’s eyes narrowed into little slits. "Be careful, Mr. Carson. I am not one of the maids that you can order around whenever you feel…"

"I feel? Mrs. Hughes you are the housekeeper of Downton Abbey. This is about propriety! When you go into the village, you are expected back at a reasonable time to attend to your duties…"

"So now I am not allowed to enjoy myself?" Mrs. Hughes interrupted again. "Mr. Carson, I really am surprised at you. You are acting quite like a child. I…"

"I am NOT the one galavanting around with a man nearly half my age!" Carson finished.

Elsie opened her mouth and slammed it shut quickly, snatching her bag from the seat next to her, nearly knocking over a lamp. ”Maybe if you spent your time minding your OWN business, you would find a lot less time to be concerned with what I do with my spare time!”

"So you WERE galavanting around with him?!" Carson puffed his chest out, his face turning red.

"I never said that!" She exclaimed. "And even if I did, it is NONE of your business what I do or do not…"

"You had no trouble digging through my trash, Mrs. Hughes. I hardly find it appropriate for you to make such an allegation."

Wounded, Elsie took a step back for a moment before recovering. ”Mr. Carson. That was for your benefit,” she replied quietly.

"And this is not?" 

"No, no I really don’t think how your being cruel…"

"I am certainly NOT being cruel!" It was his turn to look wounded. "I am trying to protect you, Mrs. Hughes. From men out there who would do you wrong. You cannot just trust any man that you meet on the street that you…"

"Mr. Carson." She said each word slowly and deliberately, drawing herself up to her full height. She took a few steps forward, closing the space between them. "I took care of myself LONG before I had you around to coddle me, and I can still take care of myself now. While you might THINK I’m weak and helpless…"

"I said NO such thing, Mrs. Hughes," Carson rolled his eyes and turned around to sit back down at his desk. This only made Elsie angrier.

"Yes. You did, Mr. Carson!" Elsie replied.

"Mrs. Hughes, I think this conversation has quite reached the point of…" 

Elsie whirled around and picked her bag back up from the seat on the couch again, tears stinging her eyes. She stopped and then turned around. ”Once again, Mr. Carson, you have ruined a day that started out perfectly well,” her voice shook slightly as she turned to go.

"Why do you always blame everything on me?" He asked from the seat on his desk. His voice was lower and less angry now, almost with a tone of sadness to it.

Elsie turned back around. ”There you go, now you’re doing it again!” She threw her hands in the air, dropping the bag to the floor once more. “You know sometimes…sometimes you should just let things BE, Mr. Carson. Would that be so terrible? Would you have such a difficult time if you just…”

"You don’t find it acceptable for me to be upset when you show up six hours late from the village, in the car of a strange man that I do not know?!" Carson stood up from his chair, again pulling himself to his full height. Elsie walked back up to stand at the other edge of the desk.

"No, I do not, Mr. Carson. I think it’s quite unreasonable…"

"I am certainly not unreas…."

"And then you start off…"

"You should be TAKEN CARE…"

"I can never get a word in edge…"

"Totally unacceptable….."

"YOU’RE NOT MY MAN!" She exploded. 

Mr. Carson’s face seemed to fall briefly, before hardening over so quickly, Elsie wasn’t even sure if she saw it right. He sat back down at his desk and picked up a pen and began to write silently.

Elsie took a deep breath before sighing, her shoulders drooping. ”Mr. Carson…” she started softly. He didn’t reply.

"Mr. Carson…" she took a step closer, biting her lip. "I didn’t REALLY mean that you…."

"I’m QUITE busy, Mrs. Hughes," he replied, his voice low. He did not glance up at her. "Good night."

Elsie opened her mouth and closed it again. She turned around and walked back over to her bag. Indecisive she turned back and forth between it and Carson before finally scooping it up. 

"You know…if you would just TALK to me. Instead of yelling at me every time your precious pride is wounded then maybe…"

Carson slammed his pen down on his desk and stood up again, the chair scraping loudly behind him. ”This has gone FAR ENOUGH, Mrs. Hughes.”

"TALK to me, Mr. Carson," she fairly begged him. "You don’t always have to be so…"

"I am talking right now, Mrs. Hughes and I am fairly certain that…"

"WHY were you so concerned about me walking home from Ripon with an acquaintance? If you really cared…"

"NOW I am being the cruel one?!" He walked around the desk angrily to face her. "To say I don’t CARE that…"

"If you are so concerned about…"

"Mrs. Hughes, I am trying to explain if you would just…"

"No you are not you are trying to…"

"MRS. HUGHES." He bellowed. She closed her mouth and leaned back slightly, surprised.

"As the Butler of Downton Abbey, I have a duty. A duty to care about my staff and ensure that they are held to the highest standards…"

Elsie closed her eyes and breathed in. ”You know what, Mr. Carson? I am going to go to bed and forget that this ever happened. I am going to be cheerful tomorrow. And when I go to sleep at night I am not going to incessantly worry that….” she paused as she leaned over to pick up the bag, when a small tulip fell out and landed on the floor.

Frowning slightly, Carson picked it up slowly, examining it. Mrs. Hughes noticed and blushed. She reached forward and took it from his hand, gently, slowly. She took another deep breath, her anger almost entirely dissipated. ”If in the morning you…”

"I love you." He said it so suddenly, so quietly that she almost didn’t hear it.

Elsie froze and her bag dropped with a thud to the floor. She turned back around. Carson’s shoulders were slumped. He glanced up at her, his face soft and full of pain.

And Elsie Hughes burst into laughter. Great, hysterical guffaws so unlike her that Carson took a sudden step backwards. Just as he was registering that she was laughing at him, she had dissolved into tears. She threw her hand over her mouth to try to keep them back.

"Mrs. Hughes?" He asked, his voice now one entirely of care and concern.

She took a deep breath. ”You…you insufferable…” she let out another sob. ”FINALLY.”

Carson looked so shocked that Elsie thought he might fall over. She started to laugh again, this time the light tinkling laugh that Carson loved. A smile slowly began to spread across his face until he was fairly beaming.

He started to reach forward tentatively and then stopped. When she didn’t flinch, he reached forward slightly again, resting his hand on her cheek. She closed her eyes and immediately reached up and grasped his arm.

They stood like that for a few moments, before Elsie opened her eyes, tears still glistening there. ”I love you too,” she whispered. ”So much.” They stood like that for a few moments, neither daring to move or speak. For fear of destroying the moment.

Carson finally broke the silence. “It’s getting late, Mrs. Hughes. It’s time we turned in,” Mr. Carson stated gently, his hand dropping. He put his hands behind his back and started back towards the desk. The loss of contact made her eyes close again, this time in pain, before she opened them. She picked her bag up for the last time, turning the knob.

"Mrs. Hughes?" He called out softly.

He was staring at her like she was his entire world. Like she’d dreamed it. ”Yes, Mr. Carson?”

"Shall we discuss this in the morning?"

"I’d like that. Very much." She smiled at him, before shutting the door quietly behind her.


End file.
